Magale Library hosts wildlife photography exhibit

SHREVEPORT, LA — The Magale Library will host an exhibit of the wildlife photography of Ronnie Maum and other local artists from June 1 to August 31 in the lobby. The opening reception for the exhibit will take place Saturday, June 23, 2:00-5:00 p.m.

Maum, a Louisiana native, is a graduate of Louisiana Tech and earned his MBA from Louisiana State University-Shreveport. He began taking photographs when he bought a camera with his first paycheck from his first job.

His nature photography increased when he attended a birding event at the Red River National Wildlife Refuge. Not long after, he obtained a permit from the Refuge allowing him to photograph and document the wildlife throughout the area.

"After one visit, I knew the Refuge was going to be a special place for nature photography," said Maum. "The 'education' doesn’t ever stop. The more you learn, the more you realize that you really haven’t scratched the surface. After each day’s photo shoot, I would try to ID any unknown species."

Maum serves on the Friends of Red River National Wildlife Refuge Board of Directors as a member-at-large and has contributed many images to the Refuge’s new Visitor Center. The President of the Friends of the Red River National Wildlife Refuge Nancy Menasco will be in attendance at the opening reception to discuss efforts at the Refuge.

Many of the prints that will be displayed in Magale are in Maum's book, Discovering Louisiana’s Red River National Wildlife Refuge. He is also the author of Refuge Encounters of the Bird Kind…and Other Species Too.